Venice

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Venice may be overcrowded, overpriced and sinking, but it remains so miraculously beautiful that on each visit, I am once again lost in astonishment and admiration. The city’s treasures are innumerable and inexhaustible. And the crowds can often be mitigated by strolling a few ...

Venice may be overcrowded, overpriced and sinking, but it remains so miraculously beautiful that on each visit, I am once again lost in astonishment and admiration. The city’s treasures are innumerable and inexhaustible. And the crowds can often be mitigated by strolling a few hundred yards from St. Mark’s Square. The passport to the city is a ticket for the vaporetti, the charming and relatively inexpensive water taxis that form the principal means of public transportation. The best general introduction to the city is still “Venice” by James Morris.

I avoid the summer, as the city is overrun and the heat is often oppressive; Venice is one place I enjoy visiting in winter, when swirling mist and a veil of rain make it extremely romantic in a melancholy sort of way. It is seldom too cold, the light is soft and, except for the Carnival period, the crowds are absent.